Reference: Key
Easton
frequently mentioned in Scripture. It is called in Hebrew maphteah, i.e., the opener (Jg 3:25); and in the Greek New Testament kleis, from its use in shutting (Mt 16:19; Lu 11:52; Re 1:18, etc.). Figures of ancient Egyptian keys are frequently found on the monuments, also of Assyrian locks and keys of wood, and of a large size (comp. Isa 22:22).
The word is used figuratively of power or authority or office (Isa 22:22; Re 3:7; 1:8; comp. Re 9:1; 20:1; comp. also Mt 16:19; 18:18). The "key of knowledge" (Lu 11:52; comp. Mt 23:13) is the means of attaining the knowledge regarding the kingdom of God. The "power of the keys" is a phrase in general use to denote the extent of ecclesiastical authority.
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And when they had tarried till they were ashamed, for no man did the doors of the parlor open: then they took a key and opened them. And behold, their lord was fallen down dead upon the earth.
I will also lay the key of David's house upon his shoulders, and if he open, no man shall shut: and if he do shut, no man shall open.
I will also lay the key of David's house upon his shoulders, and if he open, no man shall shut: and if he do shut, no man shall open.
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou bindest upon earth, it shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou loosest on earth, it shall be loosed in heaven."
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou bindest upon earth, it shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou loosest on earth, it shall be loosed in heaven."
Verily I say unto you whatsoever ye bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven. And whatsoever ye loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.
Woe be unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven before men: ye yourselves go not in, neither suffer ye them that come to enter in.
Woe be to you lawyers: for ye have taken away the key of knowledge, ye entered not in yourselves, and them that came in ye forbade."
Woe be to you lawyers: for ye have taken away the key of knowledge, ye entered not in yourselves, and them that came in ye forbade."
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending," saith the Lord almighty, which is and which was and which is to come.
and am alive, and was dead. And behold I am alive for evermore, and have the keys of hell and of death.
"And write unto the tidings-bringer of the congregation of Philadelphia, 'This saith he that is holy and true, which hath the key of David; which openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth.
And the fifth angel blew, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth. And to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand.
Fausets
Song 5:4-5. A piece of wood, from seven inches to two feet long, fitted with pegs which correspond to small holes in the bolt within; the key put through a hole draws the bolt. The symbol of authority to open or shut (Isa 22:22; Re 3:7; 1:18). A chamberlain's (eunuch) badge of office is often a key, hung by a kerchief "on the shoulders" (Isa 9:6). The power of the keys was given to Peter and the other apostles only at times (Mt 16:19; 18:18) when, and in so far as, Christ made him and them infallible. Peter rightly opened the gospel door to the Gentiles (Acts 10; Ac 11:17-18; 14:27), but he wrongly tried to shut it again (Ga 2:11-18; compare Lu 11:52).
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But when my love put in his hand at the hole, my heart was moved within me: so that I stood up to open unto my beloved. My hands dropped with Myrrh, and the Myrrh ran down my fingers upon the lock.
For unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given. Upon his shoulders shall the kingdom lie, and he shall be called with his own name, "Wonderful, the giver of counsel, the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of peace."
I will also lay the key of David's house upon his shoulders, and if he open, no man shall shut: and if he do shut, no man shall open.
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou bindest upon earth, it shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou loosest on earth, it shall be loosed in heaven."
Verily I say unto you whatsoever ye bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven. And whatsoever ye loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.
Woe be to you lawyers: for ye have taken away the key of knowledge, ye entered not in yourselves, and them that came in ye forbade."
Forasmuch then as God gave them like gifts, as he did unto us, when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ: what was I that I should have withstood God?" When they heard this, they held their peace and glorified God, saying, "Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life."
When they were come and had gathered the congregation together, they rehearsed all that God had done by them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.
And when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him in the face, for he was worthy to be blamed. For yer that certain came from James, he ate with the gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision, read more. and the other Jews dissembled likewise; Insomuch that Barnabas was brought into their simulation also. But when I saw that they went not the right way after the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter, before all men, "If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of the gentiles, and not as do the Jews: why causest thou the gentiles to live as do the Jews?" We which are Jews by nature and not sinners of the gentiles, know that a man is not justified by the deeds of the law: but by the faith of Jesus Christ - and therefore we have believed on Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the deeds of the law: because that no flesh shall be justified by the deeds of the law. If then, while we seek to be made righteous by Christ, we ourselves are found sinners, is not then Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again that which I destroyed, then make I myself a trespasser.
and am alive, and was dead. And behold I am alive for evermore, and have the keys of hell and of death.
"And write unto the tidings-bringer of the congregation of Philadelphia, 'This saith he that is holy and true, which hath the key of David; which openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth.
Hastings
A. R. S. Kennedy.
Morish
Used symbolically for authority to open or to shut. Spoken of Eliakim, 'established by God,' as having the key of the house of David laid upon his shoulder: "he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open." Isa 22:22. He is a type of the Lord Jesus, as spoken of in Re 3:7, who has also the keys of hades and of death. Re 1:18. To Peter were given the keys of the kingdom of heaven, Mt 16:19, which he opened to the Jews in Acts 2, and to the Gentiles in Acts 10. The Lord charged the doctors of the law with taking away the key of knowledge. Lu 11:52. This they did by their traditions and by hindering those who would have entered in to the blessings brought by Christ.
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I will also lay the key of David's house upon his shoulders, and if he open, no man shall shut: and if he do shut, no man shall open.
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou bindest upon earth, it shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou loosest on earth, it shall be loosed in heaven."
Woe be to you lawyers: for ye have taken away the key of knowledge, ye entered not in yourselves, and them that came in ye forbade."
and am alive, and was dead. And behold I am alive for evermore, and have the keys of hell and of death.
"And write unto the tidings-bringer of the congregation of Philadelphia, 'This saith he that is holy and true, which hath the key of David; which openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth.
Smith
Key.
The key of a native Oriental lock is a piece of wood, from seven inches to two feet in length, fitted with the wires or short nails, which, being inserted laterally into the hollow bolt which serves as a lock, raises other pins within the staple so as to allow the bolt to be drawn back. (Keys were sometimes of bronze or iron, and so large that one was as much as a man could carry. They are used in Scripture as a symbol of authority and power. Giving keys to a person signifies the intrusting of him with an important charge.
In England in modern times certain officers of the government receive, at their induction into office, a golden key. --ED.)
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And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou bindest upon earth, it shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou loosest on earth, it shall be loosed in heaven."
Watsons
KEY is frequently mentioned in Scripture, as well in a natural as in a figurative sense. The keys of the ancients were very different from ours; because their doors and trunks were closed generally with bands, and the key served only to loosen or fasten these bands in a certain manner. In a moral sense key has many significations: "And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder: so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open," Isa 22:22,
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I will also lay the key of David's house upon his shoulders, and if he open, no man shall shut: and if he do shut, no man shall open.
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou bindest upon earth, it shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou loosest on earth, it shall be loosed in heaven."
Verily I say unto you whatsoever ye bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven. And whatsoever ye loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.
and am alive, and was dead. And behold I am alive for evermore, and have the keys of hell and of death.